Picture this: women in pink dresses and pink feather boas escorted by men in tuxes and pink ties. That was the festive scene at the Grove in southwest Reno on Feb. 9. The first-ever Pink Tie Gala celebrated 15 years of a Northern Nevada's affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event sold out three weeks ahead of time. Not bad for an inaugural event. And it raised more than $55,000 to fund breast cancer screening, treatment and education programs for local women. Some of the money will also go toward research to find a cure.

About 230 guests filled the Grove, which was beautifully decorated with balloons, white tablecloths and pink primrose centerpieces. Former first lady of Nevada Bonnie Bryan received the inaugural Diane Wyness Award for her longtime support and advocacy of breast cancer awareness. Board President Emily Nelson presented the award, which is named for the mother of Channel 2 news anchor Wendy Damonte. Diane Wyness passed away from breast cancer in December 2011. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as a video of Wendy and her mother played during the dinner.

Auctioneer Thomas Hayward donated his time and auctioned off 10 live auction items. Toward the end of the evening, one person at each table was selected to auction off the centerpiece to their dinner partners. At my table, after a round of excited bids, the flowers went for $70. At another table, a guest paid $300 for the centerpiece. It was lots of fun, and every penny counts.

Niki Patin, executive director of the local Komen office, wanted to thank longtime supporters, including the RGJ, St. Mary's, Renown Institute for Cancer, Dr. Joseph Kiener, Hall & Wrye Plastic Surgeons and the Eldorado, as well as new sponsors, including Tri Sage Consulting, Holland & Hart, McLean International and Esteem Medical Spa. Congratulations on a new event, and here's to many more.

MUSIC STUDENTS TREATED TO CONCERT

The Pioneer Center has been home to Broadway plays, famous performers and, of course, the Reno Philharmonic. On Valentine's Day, people packed the Pioneer to hear master violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Rhoan De Silva play a program of Beethoven, Franck and Tartini. The talent in the room was breathtaking.

At first glance, it was the usual classical music crowd at this Artown-sponsored program. But then I noticed lots and lots of teenagers. And they seemed very excited to be there.

It turns out that 106 local music students attended as guests of Christine Kelly, owner of Sundance Books and Music.

Kelly donated the tickets to music students from the Washoe County School District so they would have the opportunity to see a world-class musician like Itzhak Perlman. The music was fabulous, the audience appreciative.

You could tell it was a sophisticated audience because people applauded at all the right moments, instead of the usual enthusiastic applause at every pause in the program. Music aficionados know that you're supposed to wait until the end of the piece to applaud. (I wasn't always sure when that was, so I just followed those in the know.)

After the main program, Perlman told composer jokes and made the audience laugh as he introduced some of his encore pieces. He played some lively Hungarian dance music and a really cool piece called "Dance of the Goblins." Not something you'd expect from someone who has 15 Grammy awards and has played with orchestras around the world and at the White House. As a matter of fact, Perlman was on his way to play the Mondavi Center in Davis and then on to San Francisco.

Hats off to local businesswoman Kelly. She made a dream possible for students who might not have been able to attend a very special evening if not for her generosity. And they got to do it in their hometown.

Jennifer Burton is a weekend anchor for Channel 2 News in Reno. Her column appears Sundays in Northern Nevada. Read her blog daily at RGJ.com.